


message keeps getting clearer

by RENielsen



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 20:02:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16729812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RENielsen/pseuds/RENielsen
Summary: The kitchen table is covered in kid art supplies. All which Niall clearly remembers seeing sprawled all over Louis’ living room floor the last time he had Freddie over. Niall had been half writing down lyrics for a song he’s been working on for ages, and half watching Louis lying on his stomach beside the toddler while the two of them were drawing stick figures with bright coloured crayons. It’d been an adorable sight, but Niall isn’t really sure what the supplies are doing in his house now, without a kid in sight to use them. Or why Louis still hasn’t dropped the excited expression on his face.or Louis shows Niall everything he wants in the future





	message keeps getting clearer

“Get up!”

Niall slowly removes his eyes from the telly and looks up at Louis who’s standing by the end of the sofa. He’s rocking back and forth on his feet, looking like a small child that can’t quite contain themselves. He looks way too excited for what’s supposed to be a lazy afternoon in, which for Niall means watching golf on the telly all day and napping in between.

“No,” he murmurs and turns his attention back to the screen. The sofa is too cosy, and he’s got no doubt in his mind that whatever Louis wants from him is not something Niall is too willing to participate in. That smirk on his face says as much. That smirk is the reason to too many dumb and embarrassing moments for Niall.

“What do you mean with ‘no’?” Louis says pouting. Niall tries not to look at him, because looking at him is basically the same thing as just giving in already, and he’s _not_. Whatever it is then he’s _not_. “Get up, Neil!”

“Leave me alone, ya dimshit,” Niall grumbles with no heat behind the words.

The words have the total opposite effect of what he wanted out of it. Louis surges forward in a quick motion, grabs Niall’s ankle and starts pulling backwards. He doesn’t manage to get Niall all that far but still pulls him far enough to rumble him out of the cosy spot he’s created for himself on the sofa with pillows neatly placed for his liking.

Sometimes Niall really doesn’t know how the two of them ever became a thing. Louis always manages to push all Niall’s buttons just the right way. It’s probably because Louis is the most wonderful person whenever the need to push and pull disappears and all there’s left is soft love and support. Louis can be the most annoying person on earth, but also the sweetest. The moments when he’s all soft and warm and cuddles up to Niall’s side like there’s no place he’d rather be, are some of Niall’s favourites. Those make all the prodding worth it in the end.

That’s probably also why Niall with a sigh pushes himself of off the sofa and takes Louis’ hand when the other offers it to him. Louis laughs as he pulls Niall with him out into the kitchen. Niall knows that Louis had no doubt in his mind that he’d follow him in the end, because he always does, and probably always will. How could he not, really?

The kitchen overall seems a lot messier than Niall remembers leaving it. It doesn’t really surprise him much, because after Louis follows a natural chaos. Niall has a theory that Louis can be in a room for no more than a couple of minutes before the clean lines crack and leave behind a very Louis like mess. His theory has yet to be disproven.

The kitchen table is covered in kid art supplies. All which Niall clearly remembers seeing sprawled all over Louis’ living room floor the last time he had Freddie over. Niall had been half writing down lyrics for a song he’s been working on for ages, and half watching Louis lying on his stomach beside the toddler while the two of them were drawing stick figures with bright coloured crayons. It’d been an adorable sight, but Niall isn’t really sure what the supplies are doing in his house now, without a kid in sight to use them. Or why Louis still hasn’t dropped the excited expression on his face.

Niall looks up at Louis in question, hoping for an answer. Maybe there’s been some semi-emergency, so Freddie has to be dropped off at his house? It has happened before, but that still doesn’t explain why the art supplies are in his kitchen. Could be that Louis simply just has forgotten to tell him they’re having Freddie over too. Yeah, that’s probably the explanation.

“Sit down, please,” Louis says, taking a seat on his own.

It takes him a second, but eventually, Niall settles down beside Louis. He just waits for the explanation, still expecting Briana to turn up any second now with the toddler on her hip and an apologetic expression on her face.

Louis doesn’t start explaining though, and instead just places a piece of paper in front of Niall, and a couple of crayons on top of that. He then takes a paper of his own, chooses a green crayon and starts drawing on the paper.

Still no explanation. What?

Niall’s so fucking confused.  He just watches as Louis draws grass on the paper, exchanges the green for a red to draw a house to the side. He just draws, a slight hum leaving him in a familiar melody Niall can’t quite remember where he’s heard before.

The drawing is a mess as Louis doesn’t really bother staying in within his own lines and just colours the paper carelessly. A couple of stick figures are added beside the house, two tall ones and one a lot smaller. A couple of trees to the side, and what could be a couple of dogs with a little imagination is added afterwards. The sun in the corner gets Louis’ signature smiley face, and seemingly happy with everything else, Louis picks up the blue crayon and starts filling in the sky.

For a moment Niall’s eyes almost flicker around just to be sure Freddie isn’t actually hiding somewhere. He knows though, that it’s just the two of them.

“What are we doing?” he hesitantly asks, fingers twisting uneasily. There’s something incredibly cosy about sitting by the kitchen table just watching Louis draw about as well as any kid. It’s also really fucking weird, and Niall really doesn’t know what to do with himself.

“Drawing,” Louis says simply, not saying anything more as he colours the last bit of the sky. “See!” he then says proudly, just like he’d done when he and Freddie had coloured together. “It’s Freddie, you and me.”

“It’s great, Lou,” he automatically says, just like he’d done the last time. It’s not really, but it’s still sweet.

“You should make one as well.”

Niall wants to protest, say he doesn’t know how to, he’s no damn artist after all, but he stops himself before the words can come over his lips. It’s not like it matters much anyway. Louis obviously doesn’t know how to draw either, but he’s still doing it without a care. Niall still isn’t sure what this whole thing is about, but he figures it doesn’t actually matter what the drawings end up looking like. No one but them will ever have to see them after all.

Louis is already working on a second piece, but this time he’s sitting so Niall can’t really see much of what he’s doing. With a shrug, Niall picks up a random crayon and starts doodling on the paper. He doesn’t really put much thought into it, and just makes different patterns and shapes all over the paper. It’s easy falling into the rhythm of it all, and he quickly starts enjoying not having to think much at all, and just listen to Louis’ continuous humming. The only sounds are the soft hum, crayons being picked up and placed on top of the table and the occasional ‘pass me that will ya?’, whenever a colour is out of reach for one of them.

When Niall has filled every last inch up on his paper, just about an hour’s time has passed, and Louis has finished up several pieces. He hasn’t shown any of them to Niall since the first one, but he stopped drawing a couple of minutes ago and has been watching Niall ever since.

“Done enough art for now? Otherwise, we probably won’t have space enough on the fridge,” Niall teases jokingly and stretches his back after having been hunched over the table for too long. He expects a sassy reply in return, but Louis just watches him, biting his lip and drumming his fingers against the table. “Everything alright?” he then asks when he doesn’t get a reply. It seems like something is on Louis’ mind, and it can go all kind of ways when Louis has got that expression on his face.

Silently Louis hands him one of the drawings. It’s just the first one again, and Niall looks up at him confused for a second before he realises that something has changed since Louis showed it the first time. It’s got words on it now, _Niall, Freddie, Louis_ written over the stick figures, and _our home_ written over the house. The last part is underlined, and Niall thinks he gets what Louis is trying to get at.

Before he can respond Louis gives him another drawing. This one doesn’t need words. Five stick figures and endless sea of faces in front of them. Niall doesn’t need an explanation, because even though he loves being able to make his own music then he misses this too. Misses when the five of them were together against the world. It’s been years since Zayn left, and since the four of them parted ways as well, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a day Niall doesn’t still miss it. He misses the closeness between all of them so much. Even if the band never gets back together, then Niall still wants that closeness back. Seems like he isn’t the only one. Niall doesn’t say ‘me too’, because Louis already knows. Niall never hid that feeling, and never did he hide that he would have dropped everything if the boys had been ready to get the band back together either. Some days he thinks he still would, but most he knows that he’s doing just fine even without the band. Most of those days are when Louis is right here with him. It’s easier not falling into the insecurities when Louis is right there beside him, constantly reassuring him that everything is just fine by just being there.

Quickly he’s being given another drawing. There’s a big difference in scenario between the two. It’s got a hospital drawn on it, but also a lot of smiley faces. A new drawing is being handed over to him before he can question that one. Four stick figures this time. One of the bigger ones is holding a really small one. _Niall, Freddie, Louis, our baby_ it says this time. Niall’s heart leaps at the words. He’s warm all over and his hands shake lightly. The next drawing has got enough small stick figures for a whole footie team drawn all over it, and Niall can’t help but laugh and shake his head.

“Not that many kids,” Niall protests, still laughing, and Louis just watches him fondly though still seeming a bit out of it. Maybe even nervous.

The next drawing is the two of them holding hands. They’ve got grey hair, and Louis has written _growing old together_ over the two of them. It’s horribly drawn but also the cutest thing, and Niall is beginning to think that maybe he’ll have to pull his joke back and actually make space of the fridge for all of Louis’ drawings. Or at least saving them somewhere they won’t get lost.

After that Louis hands over his last drawing, and Niall is immediately back to being confused.

“Uhhh,” he says, frowning as he tries to figure out what’s going on at the paper. It looks like two stick figures, but one of them is kneeling down, doing something weird that could potentially be inappropriate. Niall isn’t really sure at all.

“Turn it around?” Louis says, but it sounds more like a question than anything else. Niall still does as asked, and it takes a while for him to really understand the words written on the paper. The drawing, all of the damn drawings, suddenly makes a lot more sense, and Niall feels a bit choked up all of a sudden.

_Marry me?_

“You’re a goddamn fool. This is what all this was about?” Niall can’t help but laugh, but he also can’t help himself when he pulls Lo uis in for a kiss. It’s soft, not pushy at all like their kisses sometimes become, but Niall loves it just the same. He’s breathless when he pulls away, but he still finds enough air to respond. “Yeah, Lou, of course I will.” 


End file.
